More n00b questions:

BubbaZanetti · 04-25-2005, 10:18 AM

after putting about 2000 miles on the new S (total milage 5800ish), i've nocticed a few "quirks" and wonder if anyone else has had similar issues with their bikes

1. oil consumption: i know this is an issue with these bikes till the 10-15K milage range, i've scientifically calculated (with no science what-so-ever) that my bike is using round 1ml per mile, haha, or about a bottle of the bmw dino stuff every 1000 miles. i generally ride it 3-4 hundred miles then put a 1/3 to half a liter. this seems a bit high to me, and i'm constantly worried about overfilling due to the weird sight glass issues (oil checking acrobatics)

2 carbon deposits: it seems like my left muffler is dumping a fair bit of carbon out the exhaust and on to the liscence plate. the nature of this exhuast (2 into 1 back into 2) makes it hard to tell me if this is related to an imbalance in the engine (still have yet to do tb sync or valve adjust) or if the entire engine is just dirty for some reason. i also seem to be getting fairly strong exhaust pressure on the right pipe, but noticably weaker out the left one (i noticed this the day i bought the bike, the first time i heard it run) could this be a blockage???

timf · 04-25-2005, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BubbaZanetti
after putting about 2000 miles on the new S (total milage 5800ish), i've nocticed a few "quirks" and wonder if anyone else has had similar issues with their bikes

1. oil consumption: i know this is an issue with these bikes till the 10-15K milage range, i've scientifically calculated (with no science what-so-ever) that my bike is using round 1ml per mile, haha, or about a bottle of the bmw dino stuff every 1000 miles. i generally ride it 3-4 hundred miles then put a 1/3 to half a liter. this seems a bit high to me, and i'm constantly worried about overfilling due to the weird sight glass issues (oil checking acrobatics)

2 carbon deposits: it seems like my left muffler is dumping a fair bit of carbon out the exhaust and on to the liscence plate. the nature of this exhuast (2 into 1 back into 2) makes it hard to tell me if this is related to an imbalance in the engine (still have yet to do tb sync or valve adjust) or if the entire engine is just dirty for some reason. i also seem to be getting fairly strong exhaust pressure on the right pipe, but noticably weaker out the left one (i noticed this the day i bought the bike, the first time i heard it run) could this be a blockage???

Sounds pretty similar to mine. Mine probably uses 1qt oil per 1500 miles. I've got 12,400 miles on mine. It's a 04 model about 1 yr. old.
Same experience with the exhausts leaking carbon. I've never checked the relative pressures since the pipes are linked anyway. The exhaust flow path is shorter thru the left pipe.

Mine seems to run very smooth and gets excellent gas mileage. about 50mpg unless ridden very hard.

I've decided to trade in on the new ST!! Not that I don't love the S.

kahoon · 04-25-2005, 10:45 AM

Interesting!

I bought my S at the begining of last year and rode it HARD for 7000 miles, and not once did i have to add oil aside from an oil change at 3500! I always thought that was odd!

roger albert · 04-25-2005, 10:57 AM

soot and uneven ex pressure very normal
oil consumption fairly normal

bikerfish1100 · 04-25-2005, 11:13 AM

roger- normal for stronger exhaust flow out the RIGHT side????

roger albert · 04-25-2005, 02:23 PM

one of the sides anyway. I assume he flipped which is which.
Seems ultra unlikely any conceivable malfunction would foul things enough to flip that.

PFFOG · 02:41 PM

Yes, the shortest path is out the Right side (follow the yellow line) to get out the left it has to go through the right can (follow the red/blue line) It has nothing to do with uneven tuning ot Throttle body sync.

Hope this helps.

bikerfish1100 · 04-25-2005, 04:02 PM

my Laser reverses that disparity- strong flow out of left side, weak out of the right.

jweicht · 04-25-2005, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Yeskino
Yes, the shortest path is out the Right side (follow the yellow line) to get out the left it has to go through the right can (follow the red/blue line) It has nothing to do with uneven tuning ot Throttle body sync.

Hope this helps.

Hey Yeskino! I cut my cans open just like yours to see the pretty colors, but all I have to show for it is dirty hands and really loud exhaust noise. Did you have to pay extra for yours or what?

PFFOG · 04-25-2005, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jweicht
Hey Yeskino! I cut my cans open just like yours to see the pretty colors, but all I have to show for it is dirty hands and really loud exhaust noise. Did you have to pay extra for yours or what?

I actually stole the pic from another site and added the lines of flow. I did cut mine apart but just sliced through the front of the cans and then gutted them with a saw and torch. Cut the cat apart and did the same. A little better sound, but I ended up with a Staintune. Sounds sweet now.

BubbaZanetti · 04-25-2005, 08:49 PM

thanks for the help guys, this makes me feel much better, i wasn't getting any of the tell-tale signs of it being out of sync (weird vibes or surging) or valves out of adjustment (low fuel milage, etc) but i just wanted to make sure this was all "normal"

Chris Geuting · 04-26-2005, 07:50 AM

Bubba you have to run your bike hard on the mineral oel now otherwise the oil consumption won't go down.Usually 600 break in miles like the book says (up to 4000rpm and varying loads/rpm) and then oel change and go.The liners are silicium/carbide and are very tough but that makes them last so long but itmakes it harder for the rings to seat...So when it stops using oel you can switch to synthetic if you do it to early again it will always use oil...
Mine used half a quart (less than 0.1L/1000miles) on a 6000 mile trip recently with almost 54K on the engine...
Chris